Well, I was bashing some stuff by Chaykin in another topic, but I do really love a lot of stuff Howard Chaykin has done.
The first story I saw by him was his
Batman story in DETECTIVE 441, March 1974. Which wasn't Chaykin's first work, he'd been working as a comics pro for a year already at that point. But it was the first I saw, and I was impressed, I liked his style, which was just starting to form at that point.
I think Chaykin's first series was Ironwulf in WEIRD WORLDS 8-10. And then another of his own characters, THE SCORPION, a short-lived series for Seaboard-Atlas in 1975. Plus other stories for the Warren magazines, HEAVY METAL and National Lampoon.
As I've touched on in other topics, Chaykin did a lot of anthology work and pulp adventure type stories. It was across such a wide range of genres and styles that it almost didn't occur to me these were all by the same guy. Across SWORD OF SORCERY for DC, Cody Starbuck and other features for STAR REACH, Red Sonja and Solomon Kane stories in CONAN AND THE BARBARIANS, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN and MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL. And later Dominic Fortune in MARVEL PREVIEW, BIZARRE ADVENTURES, and later as a backup in THE HULK magazine 21-25. And other stories, Solomon Kane again in 2 issues of MARVEL PREMIERE, and another later issue of the same anthology with a one-shot of Monark Moonstalker.
Plus a number of other stories for DC's war and mystery series throughout the 70's.
I think my favorite stuff by Chaykin remains his painted art in the 1978-1981 period. I think the first of this stuff I saw was his Dominic Fortune stories in HULK magazine, and his stories and covers for EPIC ILLUSTRATED, MARVEL PREVIEW magazine, and MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL.
Not to mention THE SWORDS OF HEAVEN THE FLOWERS OF HELL graphic novel, or his adaptation of Alfred Bester's THE STARS MY DESTINATION for Byron Preiss, and EMPIRE graphic novel, also for Preiss.
Most acclaim goes to Chaykin for his later 1983-1990 work on AMERICAN FLAGG, TIME SQUARED, THE SHADOW miniseries, BLACKHAWK miniseries, and BLACK KISS. Which I like too, but I prefer the painted stuff that preceded it.
Starting with American Flagg, I felt his art locked into one particular style, and while nice, it didn't evolve and change like his work that preceded it.
I met Chaykin at a 2012 convention, and he's very likeable and approachable, very funny, a bit off-the-wall and a smartass, and fun to be around. There wasn't much competition for his company, so I hung out and talked to him for about 45 minutes, and I only left his table when others finally came along, so they could enjoy some time with him too. Otherwise I would have gladly chatted with him for another hour.
Beyond the pleasant conversation, Chaykin has also provided me with many hours of great reading. Some of these pages I can look at for hours.
